Sunday, January 10, 2010

Here are the results of my first experiment. This is just cutting up the potatoes and putting them directly into the dehydrator. To me they have the look and feel of wood chips or dried mushrooms really. The reason why the look so odd is because of the oxidization that causes the dark grayish look to them, so NO, it is NOT MOLD! Total Drying Time: 6 hours. Yes, a lot shorter than I thought, but that is why I kept an eye on it. But there you go, first experiment done.

Next up is Blanching. Here is what my book says about blanching:

Most vegatables must be blanched, either steaming over boiling water or in the microwave oven to slow the enzyme action which will continue during drying and storage.

NOTE: Blanching softens the cell structure, allowing moisture to escape more easily and also allows the vegetables to rehydrate faster.

The steam blanching might be a bit harder for me to do since I do not have a steamer, but I might be able to rig one up. I have a metal strainer that I can use. The easiest will be the microwave, just because I have one. (DUH!) Again, I will post the processes on doing this.